Many people with cancer may be concealing their use of vitamins, herbs
or other complementary medicines from their doctors -- an omission that
could compromise their treatment, a new study has found.
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania surveyed 273 cancer patients
and found 48 percent used alternative or complementary products, and about
three-quarters of them fail to share that information with their doctors.
Had their doctors known about the use of supplements, "most would take
a conservative approach and ask patients not to take them during their
treatment," said researcher Dr. Neha Vapiwala, a radiation oncologist at
Penn.
Dr. Gregory Swanson, a radiation oncologist at the University of Texas
Health Science Center in San Antonio, agreed.
"This is a problem most of us don't know how to deal with," Swanson told
United Press International.
"To be conservative, I ask patients not to take supplements during treatment,
even if they want to start them again afterward."
Despite the findings, Swanson said he thinks sales of alternative or complementary
products will be only minimally affected.
"Most people who take supplements believe they will help them, regardless
of what we tell them," he said.
Vapiwala said survey respondents revealed they used the alternative products
as a cost-effective means of treating their cancer and improving their
overall health. Of those surveyed, she added, 88 percent thought the supplements
were worth the cost.
"Some were spending over $50 a month, yet even people who weren't sure
the supplements were helping said it was worth it," she said.
The respondents tended to use two different products, most commonly vitamins
and herbal and botanical supplements.
The survey, reported at an American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and
Oncology meeting, included 142 patients receiving radiation therapy for
either breast or prostate cancer and 131 chemotherapy patients.
Of the radiation patients, 35 percent used complementary or alternative
medicines, while 65 percent of the chemotherapy patients did so.
"When we give patients radiation therapy, we want the radiation to create
free radicals that oxidize and kill cancer cells," Vapiwala said, "but
herbal medications such as saw palmetto and St. John's Wort contain anti-oxidants
that may counter the effects of the radiation on unwanted cancer cells."
Other popular anti-oxidant supplements include beta carotene and vitamins
A, C and E.
Patients undergoing radiation therapy should stop taking all alternative
or complementary medications, except for a once-daily multi-vitamin pill,
she said.
Vapiwala said many doctors do not ask their patients about complementary
medicines, and even if they do, they tend to ask only once and fail to
follow up.
"Don't rely on your doctor, who may be in and out of the room, to bring
it up," she said. "Tell them what you are taking and how much."
She recommended that if patients feel reluctant about approaching their
doctors, then they should share the information with a nurse, therapist
or other person at the clinic.
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